adding value did not increase price (much)
The Manhattan loft on the 4th floor of 113 Greene Street has sold twice in the last four years, in nice before-and-after fashion. Yes, "before" The Market changed (Lehman, AIG and all that other 'fundamental' stuff), but also "before" it got dressed up from a "classic loft" to an "absolute showplace". So a rather modest increase in price from 2006 to 2009 was less an increase in value (the upgrade probably added a lot more value) than it was a reflection of overall market decline.

This "2,000 sq ft" Cinderella of a loft had great bones when it was marketed in 2006 -- and great ambitions even in those heady days. They started in March 2006 at $2.125mm, then dropped (twice) to $1.725mm, before closing in September 2006 at $1.7mm. The marketing then was all about the structure: "cast-iron beauty", 13 "huge" windows, 11 foot tin ceilings, "sun-flooded". In starting at $2.125mm, those sellers mis-judged The Market, but it did not take long (and only 2 price drops) to adjust and find that deal at $1.7mm 6 months after starting out. (To get ahead of the story a bit, the 2009 found success more quickly.)

funky layout
Those September 2006 buyers apparently put a lot of work (and talent) into that "absolute showplace" condition, but they did not add a second bath (huh?). The layout is Long-and-Narrow, but hardly classically so, with a bulge at the back that is used as an extravagantly sized master bedroom cum sitting area (larger than the living room!). I don't see a floor plan with the 2006 listing, so I can't tell how many walls were moved when it was "impeccably [re]designed". Some would find the layout awkward (that single bath, a second bedroom 10x10, the bathroom opening into the dining area, all that space in the master). Layout issues aside, it is likely that the September-2006-buyers-turned-April-2009-sellers put more than $130k to turn it into an "absolute showplace".

a lack of greed is good
They came to market at $1.995mm on December 21, 2008 and found a contract by March 5, so they were not overly aggressive. The closing price (April 24) of $1.835mm is only 8% off the ask, and the ask worked in less than 3 months. Props to them (and to Josh Rubin of PruDE) for resisting the temptation to insist on 'getting their money back' from the 2006 purchase plus renovation. Theirreward: they got out.

 

© Sandy Mattingly 2009